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Pai Gow Rules
Pai Gow Sections: Rules How to Play Payoffs

Pai gow (pronounced pie-gow) poker originated some time in the late 1800s when the Chinese helped construct the U.S. railroads. The game is believed to be a combination of American poker and pai gow, a Chinese domino game.
Object of the Game

To have a 2-card hand and 5-card hand of higher rank than the banker's 2-card hand and 5-card hand.
How to Play

Pai gow poker is played with one 52-card deck and a Joker.

The Bets. Select an initial bet amount and click Deal to begin the game. There is a minimum bet of $5 and a maximum bet of $100.

The Cards. Aces may be considered high or low (ie. the ace can be used in an A-K-Q-J-10 or 5-4-3-2-A straight). The Joker can only be used to complete a Straight, a Flush, a Straight Flush or a Royal Flush -- otherwise, the Joker is considered an Ace.

The Deal. Each player is initially dealt 7 cards. The player then forms a 5-card hand called a high hand and a 2-card hand called a low hand. The high hand must be equal to or higher in rank than the low hand. The low hand will always be either a pair or a high card hand. See below for a list of hands and their rankings.

To win, the player's two hands must both have a higher rank than the banker's two hands (ie. the high hand must beat the banker's high hand, and the low hand must beat banker's low hand). Should the player win one hand a lose the other, the wager is considered a push and is neither won nor lost. In all other cases, the player loses. When a player's hand and banker's hand are of equal rank, it is called a copy, and is won by the banker.
Pai Gow Poker Hands

Below are examples of all the pai gow poker hands ranked from highest to lowest. In pai gow poker 10-J-Q-K-A is the highest straight, A-2-3-4-5 is the next highest, followed by 9-10-J-Q-K, etc.